Moving Beyond Angry Birds Rovio Launches Amazing Alex for iOS and Android
Rovio has proved there is life beyond Angry Birds by today launching its new puzzle-based games series Amazing Alex on iOS and Android devices, challenging gamers to complete 100 levels using 35 fully interactive objects.
Priced at $0.99 for iPhone, $2.99 for iPad and available via three separate Google Play downloads (trial, premium and HD), Amazing Alex treads a familiar path as each of the Angry Birds games, which have now seen a combined 1 billion downloads across all platforms.
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/07/12/moving-beyond-angry-birds-rovio-launches-amazing-alex-for-ios-and-android/
SOPA architect now pushing for “IP Attaché” legislation
Another week, another controversial intellectual property enforcement bill hits Capitol Hill. This time, it’s called the IP Attaché Act, and while a draft bill has been released so far, it hasn’t officially been introduced in Congress.
The bill, its proponents say, “streamlines” the process of intellectual property enforcement abroad. Meanwhile, opponents charge that this is wholly unnecessary, given the myriad of federal agencies that already do this, in addition to the fact that this bill has been drafted in secret.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/sopa-architect-now-pushing-for-ip-attache-legislation/
Statistics about Yahoo Leak of 450-000 Plain Text Accounts
Recently, Ars Technica reported about a leak by “D33ds Company” of more than 450.000 plain-text accounts from a Yahoo service, which is suspected to be Yahoo Voice.
Since all the accounts are in plain-text, anyone with an account present in the leak which also has the same password on other sites (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc), should assume that someone has accessed their account.
http://blog.eset.se/statistics-about-yahoo-leak-of-450-000-plain-text-accounts/
Possible Instagram security vulnerability reportedly revealed; update: Instagram says bug fixed, no private data made public
Security researcher Sebastián Guerrero has posted some details on an apparent security vulnerability within Instagram. Guerrero claims to have discovered a method for forcing any Instagram user to follow another account. That would mean that private Instagram accounts would be accessible to a malicious user, to say nothing of forcing non-private users into following other accounts they may not want to.
While the full details of how to pull off the vulnerability weren’t posted in the alert on Pastebin, Guerrero did provide a few more details in a blog post (Google translation here). On Pastebin, he summarizes the vulnerability as “Instagram['s] lack of control on authorization logic allows an user to add himself as a friend of any user on Instagram social network.” Guerrero tells us via email that he first submitted the vulnerability to Instagram yesterday with no response, then chose to go public with his claims today. Guerrero has also given us a few further details on how he achived the vulnerability via email, but we have not yet independently verified his claims.
http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/7/11/3153664/possible-instagram-security-vulnerability-revealed
Yahoo Expected To Name Ross Levinsohn As Its New Chief Executive
Media veteran Ross Levinsohn is expected to be named the permanent chief executive of Yahoo as early as today, signaling a new chapter for the struggling Internet company, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.
Yahoo’s board is meeting today, where its members are believed to be weighing the decision.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-yahoo-expected-to-name-ross-levinsohn-as-its-new-chief-executive-20120711,0,6638828.story
The Eyes Have It: Marketers Now Track Shoppers’ Retinas
Consumer-products companies are turning to new technology to overcome the biggest obstacle to learning what shoppers really think: what the shoppers say.
It turns out consumers aren’t a very reliable source of information about their own preferences. Academic research has shown focus-group subjects try to please their testers and overestimate their interest in products, making it hard to get a read on what works. But getting testing right is crucial for consumer-products companies because they ship high volumes and lack direct contact with shoppers.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702303644004577520760230459438-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwMTExNDEyWj.html
Chrome OS version 20 hits stable release channel, brings Google Drive and Aura UI for Cr-48s along
If you’re a Chrome OS user who doesn’t live on the bleeding edge, it’s finally time to experience the latest version 20, which most notably adds support for its Drive cloud storage. Also mentioned as included in the upgrade is offline support of Google Docs, Pepper Flash upgrade, access to the new Aura UI on Cr-48 systems and other tweaks.
http://m.engadget.com/2012/07/11/chrome-os-version-20-drive-docs-aura/
HP Q2 PC Share Tumbles; Gartner, IDC Diverge on Apple Results
Gartner this afternoon reported that Q2 PC sales fell 0.1%, year over year, to 87.5 million units, and that Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) maintained the top spot in the world even as its total shipments fell by 12%.
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/07/11/hp-dell-q2-pc-share-tumbles-lenovo-rises-says-gartner/
Uber to Experiment With Ice Cream on Demand in 7 Cities
Uber, the San Francisco start-up that offers a smartphone app for summoning cars, is expanding its service to ice cream trucks in seven cities for a one-day test on Friday.
Customers will be able to use the Uber app to request an ice cream truck in some areas of San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Washington and Toronto, the company said. On Friday, the trucks will be available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in New York, and from noon to 6 p.m. in the other cities.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/uber-ice-cream/
